Using a community-driven approach to identify and effectively target aquatic habitats of Anopheles funestus mosquitoes to reduce malaria transmission in rural Tanzania

The project aims to demonstrate that trained community members can identify, characterize and target aquatic habitats of An. funestus mosquitoes with effective larvicides to reduce malaria transmission in rural south-eastern Tanzania villages, where ongoing malaria transmission is overwhelmingly mediated by this vector species.

The specific objectives:

i) To identify and characterize aquatic habitats of An. funestus mosquitoes in four villages in Ulanga and Kilombero districts, south-eastern Tanzania. This will be achieved by working with trained community volunteers.

 II) To demonstrate that preferentially targeting these An. funestus habitats with the microbial larvicide, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) can dramatically disrupt vector densities and overall malaria transmission in the villages. The last objective

III) To assess the cost-effectiveness of this species-specific approach that preferentially targets the dominant An. funestus mosquitoes, for improved malaria prevention.#